Civil War? The Federal Government Is Threatening To Send Troops To Fight Texas Over The Border Invasion
Texas sits at the center of the illegal immigration crisis, and the stakes are getting higher and higher as migrants continue to come in, many illegally, over the Southern border.
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While the issue is of national importance, the lack of initiative from the federal government means that border states like Texas, which have to carry the heaviest burden, have begun taking matters into their own hands. The Biden administration has repeatedly clashed with Texas, saying it has overstepped its bounds, but Texas says it can’t afford to just leave the Southern border open. Now, the federal government is threatening to send in troops to force Texas to back down, and things could get messy.
Operation Lone Star
Since the beginning of the Biden administration, America’s Southern border has seen over 6 million attempted illegal border crossings. Most of those, almost 4 million, have taken place in Texas. Nearly 2 million known attempts have succeeded in dodging Border Patrol and entering the U.S. illegally. Since many end up staying in Texas, the large numbers take a toll on the state’s capacity, with illegal immigrants costing the state an estimated $623 million for education, $534 million for health care, and $183 million for criminal justice every year.
Many communities in Texas are also beginning to find the large numbers affecting their day-to-day lives. While some immigrants are simply coming across the border in search of better lives, unchecked immigration at such massive volumes has resulted in a large number of criminals, among them drug cartels, human traffickers, and petty criminals. “Everywhere I go throughout my district, it’s the number one issue. … You’re seeing record numbers of apprehensions, record numbers of drugs and illicit material coming over, record numbers of migrant tests. It is all pure chaos along the border,” says U.S. Rep Vicente Gonzalez Jr., the congressman for Texas’ 34th district. “These once small sleepy towns are now seeing high speed chases several times a week.”
The reality is that the vast majority of these massive caravans crossing into the US are filled with military aged men, not innocent women and children as the progressive media would have you believe. There are known terrorists and felons coming through the border, and Fentanyl deaths and sex trafficking crimes are rising at an alarming rate as a result.
The Biden administration has largely ignored the issue, but the rising numbers of migrants and resulting chaos have forced Texas Governor Greg Abbott to respond. Operation Lone Star is an initiative that has pulled together many statewide services, including the Texas National Guard, to support border security, beginning shortly after President Biden took office. The initiative has caused issues between Texas and the federal government basically since it began. One of the most famous clashes was back in November over the 70,000 rolls of concertina wire that Texas placed to keep migrants from crossing. Federal agents cut through the wire, which Texas said was destruction of state property, prompting a series of federal lawsuits and appeals that ultimately left things in Texas’s favor in mid-December.
Rising Tensions in Eagle Pass
Then, things got messy. On January 10, 2024, Texas took control of Shelby Park, a small city park on the border with Mexico along the Rio Grande, after Governor Abbott declared a state of emergency. Abbott’s office said that control of the park, located in a small city called Eagle Pass, was part of the state’s plan to put into place “miles of additional razor wire and anti-climb barriers to deter and repel the record-high levels of illegal immigration invited by President Biden's reckless open border policies.” Spokeswoman Renea Eze further called out the inaction of the federal government, saying, “Instead of enforcing federal immigration laws, the Biden administration allows unfettered access for Mexican cartels to smuggle people into our country.” The park, previously home to baseball and soccer fields, now features National Guard units, Texas state troopers, and military vehicles.
Will Biden Mess with Texas?
Following the incident, the Biden administration has begun threatening to take action against Texas. Specifically, President Biden is weighing using Texas’ own National Guard troops against itself. The National Guard is a militia, a state-based military force that governors are able to use for emergency purposes in normal times. The Guard is dual duty, though, acting as a reserve force for the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force when needed. Since the President is the Commander in Chief of the Army, he has the ability to “federalize” the Guard, or use it for national purposes instead of state ones. President Biden is currently weighing doing this with Texas’ National Guard, which has sparked mixed reactions.
Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro has already called on the President to federalize the Texas National Guard, writing, “Governor Greg Abbott is using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border. If Abbott is defying yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, [Biden] needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard now."
Other leaders across the U.S. are on the side of Texas. Governors from over half of the remaining 49 states have signed a letter of support for Governor Abbott. “We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border," the letter reads. "Because the Biden Administration has abdicated its constitutional compact duties to the states, Texas has every legal justification to protect the sovereignty of our states and our nation.”
Are We Headed for Civil War?
This conflict between states’ rights and federal authority has the internet wondering if Texas will be the new front for another Civil War. When asked in an interview whether he thought the situation in Eagle Pass will “turn into a civil war,” Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick refused to directly comment, saying only, “We believe constitutionally we are right, we have a right to defend our citizens, we have a right to defend this country, and we are just doing our job. These young women and men who serve our National Guard and our DPS are the best of the best. Why would he want to send anyone down to confront them?”
The Biden administration appears to be considering escalating the situation. If they do, we may indeed see a conflict for the history books.
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